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IRA MORSE, OF D ANBURY, GONNECTIGUT.

Letters .Patent No. l(7,076, dated April 21, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN WRENCH. i

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Be it known that I, IRA`MORSE, of Danbury, in the county of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Wrenches; and `I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of'the'same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichyFigure 1 is a side elevation 'of my Wrench, with the slide-nut and'handlo in section.

Figure '2 is a front elevationy of the same, with nut and handle in section. v Y

My improvement relates to that class of screw-wrenches which are designed to be applied to the turning of screw-nuts or pipes; and my invention consists, mainly, in the construction of the jaws, whereby, when using as a pipe-wrench, no.re setting of the jaws will be required in changing from one pipe to another of the same size. i A l That others may fully 4understand my invention, I' will particularly describe it.

A is .thebar of the wrench, the upper end of which is turned over edgeways to form the head or upperjaw B. Upon the bar A the sliding caseC is fitted, so that it may move snugly but freely up and down thereon. The sliding case C carries the movable or lowerA jaw D. At` the lower end of the bar A commences the shank E, which passes downward through the ferrule F and handle G, and is secured therein bythe screw-nut H. At the point of junction between the bar A and shank E, the shoulders a a are formed'by the rounding off of the corners, and, if desired, otherwise reducing the size of the bar. The case C is provided, at its lower end,

with two slabs, I I, of a screw, about equal in diameter to the largest diameter of the bar A, These slabs, l

I I, are rigidly attached to Athe oase C, and have a space between them just equal to the thickness of the bar A, so that the said slabs lie against the sideofA when i'n position,.and move up and-down in contact therewith. The screw-nut J is fitted to the screw-thread on the slabs I I, and when all of the parts are in position said nut is corined between the shoulders a a and the ferrule F, and is thereby restrained of any lateral motion, but may move freely around its airis;- and by said motion the slabs I I and the oase C arev caused to move up or down on the bar A, to open or close the jaws B D.

The jaw D is pivoted to the case C, as shown at b, so as to permit it to have slight movement to or from the bar A and jaw B; and there is inserted behind it, in any convenient way, a spring, K, to keep the said jaw always openwhcn not in use... This spring may be of rubber or metal, and may be inserted atany point where it can have the desired action. l h y Thejaws B D are constructed so .that when the latter one is thrown open by the spring K, they are diver`v gent from' each other, from theback to the front, and if they are set at the proper distance apart, any cylindrical body of the proper size may be inserted between them and instantly griped'without changing the screwnut J, because, if the body will enter between the outer edges of the jaws,it may be inserted untilrit is in contact with both of them, and then a slightmovernent of'the handle G in the proper direction danses the jaw D to more on its pivot and gripe the body betweenthejuws in the manner familiar to all persons who use pipewrenches.` And when the wrench isto be removed from the pipe, a contrarymotlion of the handle (il releases it from the pressure of thejaw D, and it may bc freely removed;

I am aware that wrenches have been made with sliding cases and movable jaws,said jaws havin'gsprings set behind them, as in the wrenches patented by- Bartholomew and Merrick, January 2,1849; Stillson and Chapman, 31st October, 1865, and others; but in said wrenches, and in all others, sofar as I am aware, the pipe to be griped could not bc inserted between the vjaws until the movable jaw had been opened by the screw, nor the pipe-griped until the jaws have been closed again by the screw, and that this process had to be repeated to remove the wrench; in other words,ithe distance between the outer edges of the two jaws was made less than the distance between points within the outer edges.- In my wrench the distance between the outer edges is the greatest distance, and the pipe c'an therefore be inserted or removed without changing the position of the case upon the bar of the wrench. This facility ofattachment and removal is of great importance, as saving much time and trouble. 4

Havirig described my invention, what I claim as new,v is' A wrench, having the bar A, serrated rigid jaw B, and hinge serrated jaw D, attached to the sleeve C, both jaws being divergent outward, and all constructed and arranged substantially as desc'ribed.

IRA` MORSE. Witnesses :V

Tnnonons McDoNALn,

CHAs. F. STARR.' 

